The TV show NCIS - starring Mark Harmon as 'Gibbs', has a recent episode involving "ransomware".

Ransomware is typically a message that pops up on your screen threatening to delete all your files or contact the FBI unless you call a number and pay them $500 for a key to get rid of the ransomware.

On this TV show, the character McGee - who is their computer geek - advises that it is easiest to just PAY the money!That is TERRIBLE advice. Never pay that. They won't actually take your money - because if they did, that would be traceable, and they would be shut down immediately. Instead, what they are after is your credit card and/or banking information which they can then sell or use to make purchases, etc.

It is terrible advice on the part of that show to suggest that anybody should pay this money.

By the way, it's now usually very simple to get rid of ransomware. First try closing the TAB that contains the ransomware. If that doesn't work, go to your task manager and end the task which is the browser which is running the ransomware.

Typically people get ransomware when they go searching for straight porn on obscure random websites hosted in China. Malware tends to be hosted in countries such as China, Turkey, and Russia. By far, most of it is China and Turkey, but people love to blame Russia.